This Cookie Policy explains how OpenTuition (“we”, “us”, “our”) uses cookies and similar technologies on opentuition.com. It should be read together with our Privacy Policy.
Last updated: 22 April 2026
What are cookies?
A cookie is a small text file placed on your device (computer, tablet, or phone) when you visit a website. Cookies let the site recognise your device, remember your preferences, and provide essential functionality such as keeping you signed in. We also use similar technologies such as local storage, tags, and pixels — this policy covers all of them.
How does OpenTuition use cookies?
OpenTuition is a free online learning platform for ACCA, CIMA, AAT, and other accountancy qualifications. We deliberately keep our use of cookies and third-party tracking to a minimum. We use cookies to:
- Keep you signed in to your student account and forum profile
- Remember your course progress, preferences, and settings
- Enable core features of our forums (powered by bbPress and BuddyPress)
- Protect the site against spam, abuse, and automated attacks using our own self-hosted tools
- Understand how students use the site (via our own self-hosted Matomo analytics) so we can improve our courses and materials
- Support the limited advertising that helps keep OpenTuition free
Cookies set directly by opentuition.com are “first-party cookies”. Cookies set by other services we embed (such as YouTube for lecture videos) are “third-party cookies” and are governed by the privacy policies of those providers.
Types of cookies we use
1. Strictly necessary cookies
These cookies are essential for the site to work. They allow you to log in, post in the forums, submit test answers, and navigate secure areas. Without them, services you have requested cannot be provided. Examples include WordPress login cookies (wordpress_logged_in_*, wp-settings-*), session cookies, and security/CSRF tokens. They are also used by our self-hosted anti-spam and abuse-protection systems to distinguish genuine students from automated bots. These do not require consent.
2. Performance and analytics cookies
We use Matomo, a privacy-friendly analytics platform that we host ourselves on our own servers. No analytics data is sent to Google or any other third party. Matomo helps us understand which lectures, notes, and forum topics are most useful so we can improve them. It collects information in an aggregated form — for example, which pages are visited most often and whether users encounter errors. Typical Matomo cookies include _pk_id.* and _pk_ses.*. We also honour “Do Not Track” and Global Privacy Control signals where your browser sends them.
3. Functionality cookies
These remember choices you make (such as your preferred exam paper or display preferences) so we can offer a more personalised experience. They may be set by us or by third-party providers whose services we have added to our pages, such as YouTube for embedded lecture videos.
4. Advertising cookies
OpenTuition is free and partly funded by advertising. We work with a limited number of advertising partners (such as Google AdSense) who may set cookies to measure ad performance and, where permitted, show ads that are more relevant to you. We do not sell your personal data.
Third-party services we use
We keep external services to a minimum. The main third parties that may set cookies on opentuition.com are:
- Google Ads / AdSense — advertising that helps keep OpenTuition free. Ad settings.
- YouTube (Google) — embedded lecture videos. Privacy policy.
- Cloudflare — security and performance (DDoS protection, caching). Privacy policy.
We do not use Google Analytics, Akismet, or any other third-party analytics or anti-spam service. Our analytics (Matomo) and our anti-spam / abuse-protection systems are hosted on our own infrastructure, so that data about our students stays with us.
Managing your cookie preferences
When you first visit opentuition.com, our consent banner lets you accept or reject non-essential cookies. You can change your choice at any time by clearing your browser cookies for this site and reloading the page.
You can also control cookies directly in your browser. Most browsers let you see what cookies are stored, delete them, or block them entirely. Please note that blocking strictly necessary cookies may prevent you from logging in or using the forums.
Changes to this policy
We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the services we use or in the law. The “Last updated” date at the top shows when it was most recently revised.
Contact us
If you have questions about this Cookie Policy or how we handle your data, please contact us via the contact page. UK users also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk.